The groove in Luna’s floor was coming along nicely. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been working on it, pacing from the windows that lead out to her balcony to the foot of her bed and back again, occasionally glancing outside at the clear, moonlit night she’d given to Equestria. She’d paused in her pacing just long enough to raise the moon, not even bothering to join her sister to do so, then returned to her musings. She wondered if he was in his bedroom, looking up and perhaps thinking on how lovely her night sky was. Ugh! She was worse than a lovestruck foal with a first crush!

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this way. Well, she could, but very dimly, almost as if it had happened to somepony else. Applejack had said yes. She was free to express her affections to McIntosh and then… She faltered a moment. There was, of course, always the chance he would reject her advances, even with Applejack’s reassurances that he was not otherwise spoken for. What if he didn’t like her? What if he preferred his fillies smaller, or without wings, or maybe he simply wouldn’t be able to look past the fact that she was a Princess?

She turned at the wall to begin to pace back towards the door when her train of thought was neatly disrupted by the sound of a knock at her chamber door.

“We said we did not wish to be disturbed!” She growled as she stomped across to pull the door open with her magic, expecting to see some guard or functionary there with yet another irritating demand for her attention but instead she came nose to nose with the gently smiling face of her sister. “Tia?”

“Hello, Luna. I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m afraid we have a very serious matter to deal with that couldn’t wait.”

“Of course, Sister,” she stepped back to invite the glowing white alicorn into her room. “What vexes thee? Has Discord returned to his old ways? Mayhap Chrysalis and her Changelings again threaten our borders?”

“It’s something a little closer to home,” was Celestia’s less than helpful reply. With a brief flash of her magic she summoned a scroll and held it in front of her as she unrolled it, cleared her throat and began to read. “Repairing damage to the marble floor, six hundred bits. Compensation for lack of sleep, twelve hundred bits. Replacement horseshoes (prematurely worn out), fifty bits per hoof.”

Luna just stared as her sister solemnly read out the increasingly long list of spurious and, in some cases, downright fictitious damages. Really? A highly trained pony whisperer to soothe the damaged nerves of the thestrals she was keeping up at night with her pacing? Realignment of the main telescope in the observatory because her pacing had knocked it three degrees off center?

“Four hundred bits for Timberwolf Wax?” Luna finally exploded, slamming her hoof down. “Sister, what is this nonsense? Thou claimed we had a truly serious matter to attend to!”

“Timberwolf wax is terribly serious,” Celestia replied with a completely straight face, thousands of years of schooling her expression allowing not a single hint of mirth to escape. “It’s incredibly difficult to obtain and the last group of soldiers we sent in barely escaped with their lives. I do hope you realise that this will likely put a serious strain on our finances for the next year. In fact, we may even have to take the truly unthinkable step of no longer having pancakes at breakfast in order to save money.”

“Thou… You…” Luna spluttered incoherently, then blinked and just glared at Celestia, her ears pinning back. “Thou’rt teasing me again,” she stated, her voice flat and cold.

“Of course I am,” was the infuriatingly calm and unruffled reply. “I’ve been teasing you for centuries, after all. I’m not about to stop now. It did stop you pacing and really, we have had some complaints that people can hear you all the way down in the main ballroom. Luna… What is on your mind? Don’t say nothing, because if you do then I’ll have no choice but to continue reading from this list and it only gets sillier from here.”

The midnight-blue alicorn was left hesitating as the time came to actually confess to her sister. “What… What wouldst thou do…” she began in a faltering voice, then growled under her breath and turned away to stare out of her window. “No. It is of no mind, thou needst not trouble thyself.”

“Lulu,” Celestia’s voice was gently chiding. “You should know by now that you can’t just sweep this under the rug. All that happens then is you’ll keep tripping over it when you least expect.” The gleaming white alicorn stepped forward to offer a tentative nuzzle to her sister’s shoulder that Luna at first ignored, then subtly leaned into as a long, soft sigh escaped her lips.

Luna gathered her courage and asked as simply as she could. “What wouldst thou do if I were to take a lover once more?”

Celestia, to Luna’s surprise, didn’t look surprised or taken aback by the question. “So that’s what this is about. I should have guessed,” she shook her head. “Has it truly been so long since Swift Spark that I failed to recognise the signs?”

Of course. That had been his name. Well, that was one quandary resolved, but another remained and it would seem that all her fretting about how to broach the subject with her sister was entirely pointless as Celestia, once again, already knew what was going on. “You knew,” Luna shook her head and sighed, “I should have guessed. I never was good at keeping secrets from you.”

Celestia briefly looked pained, “You were, once.” She gently reminded her sister. “And no, I did not know what exactly was bothering you but I suspected. I had hoped you would come to me before now but when you did not…” She paused, then let the matter drop. Their particular trust issues were, she knew, likely to be a problem for many years to come and now was hardly the time to raise them again. ”So then, a lover. Who is the lucky stallion or mare that has caught your eye? Do I know him? I can’t see you taking someone from Canterlot, they would be a little bit too close to home and the nobles would certainly attempt to exert their influence.”

This time it was Celestia who began to pace around the large room, occasionally stopping to glance upward at the sky, “I can’t see you dating one of the Wonderbolts;” she paused, “to be sure, when we say ‘lover’ do you mean someone for a night of passion or are you seeking something more, Lulu?”

“Tia!” Luna snorted indignantly. “Were it just some quick roll in the hay, would we—would I—be worrying like this? Not that you’d know anything about such things,” she added sullenly, still a little put out that her sister was, seemingly, one step ahead of her yet again. “No. This is… I hope it is…” She trailed off and dropped her head down to let her mane drift down over her muzzle. “It’s more.”

“Well then. It’s not anyone in Canterlot,” when Luna didn’t reply, Celestia continued with her guessing, “I can’t see someone from Appleoosa really catching your eye, a little too rough and ready there and while you never seem to want someone too stuck up you’ve never been drawn to those with entirely no refinement. Hmmm. Your Night Guard have been seen spending an awful lot of time in Ponyville, now that I think on it,” she gave her sister a little grin. “Am I getting warm?”

“I am in no mood for thy games, Tia,” Luna growled, lashing her tail behind her. “If you have come to my chambers merely to bait me, go and find Discord. I am sure he will be more receptive to thy foolishness.”

Celestia finally sighed and, schooling her face to a more serious expression, she stepped back to wrap her wing around her smaller sister. “Luna… Lulu. I’m sorry. I just worry about you when you get things bottled up like this and I find that sometimes teasing you a little is the best way to get you to tell me what’s truly on your mind. You should know you can talk to me about anything.”

The smaller alicorn glared at her bigger sister, “There was a time when I could not,” she pointed out, unable to keep the bitterness from her voice. “A time when we barely spoke of anything of consequence and we know how that ended. How can I talk to thee now if thou wilt not take me seriously? Do not treat me like a child, Celestia! I am as old as thee!” She slammed her hoof down again and this time her voice deepened, her star-filled mane billowing around her as her power stirred.

Celestia winced inwardly at this display. There, she had done it again. There were some days they were able to laugh and joke together and then there were the other times, like now, when everything they said or did just seemed to rub salt into partially-healed wounds. “I cry your pardon, Luna,” she bowed her head as she spoke. “You’re right. I just… There’s some days it’s as if nothing had ever changed, as if she had never come here and taken you away.”

Luna nearly said it, nearly pointed out that the sending away had not been Nightmare Moon’s doing, but that was an old hurt, one that time would eventually ease and there was no advantage in bringing it up now except to be vicious and that was not what she wanted to do. “It has been less than three years, Tia. Pain that old does not vanish so quickly,” she took a slow step towards her sister. “I want things to be as they were between us sister, for us to have the closeness we once shared, but both of us need to be mindful of old habits and old assumptions.” Luna dropped her head down as well and pressed her neck to Celestia’s, her eyes closing as she drew a long, slow breath and let it out in a sigh. “We will be fine,” the midnight blue alicorn whispered, “In time. All I ask is that you respect the decisions I make, as I respect yours.”

Celestia nodded, “You are right, of course. I will try and do better, I promise.” With that she nuzzled once more and then stepped back a little to lift her head. “So? Will you tell me who it is, Lulu? Which lucky stallion has caught your eye?”

Luna hesitated before turning and walking out onto her balcony, resisting the urge to look through her telescope which was, as it was so frequently these days, again pointed towards a certain farm in a certain town not so far away. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, her emotions in turmoil as everything she had planned to say, every way she had imagined this conversation potentially going, span away and out of her control. Finally, there was really only one thing she could say, “McIntosh Apple.”

Celestia’s eyes widened, “McIntosh. The one they call Big Mac? Really?” It slipped out before she could rein it in and she promptly looked chagrined, her ears splaying out to either side, “I’m sorry, Lulu. That was unkind of me. I just never considered one of the Apple family might catch your eye. They’re very… Rustic.”

Luna simply glared at her until Celestia stepped forward to apologetically nuzzle her Sister’s cheek. “I really am sorry, Lulu. Please, believe me I am not trying to belittle you or your choices. It’s just that… McIntosh Apple. You must admit he’s an odd choice, if you don’t mind me saying. You haven’t spent a lot of time with him.”

“Perhaps not in person, no, but he has spent a great deal of time with my night. I have heard him speak to it so many times now, sharing dreams and hopes he cannot bring himself to share with others.”

“Dreams and hopes you can fulfill?” Celestia almost sounded sceptical, even challenging.

“Yes.” Luna snapped as she stepped away from her sister, “Dreams and hopes that no mortal mare could fulfill, not even your precious student. McIntosh is—He will be—we will-“ Celestia’s renewed embrace interrupted her frantic struggling for the right words.

“Peace, Lulu. I really should know when to stop my prodding at you but your choice of paramour does cause me concern for a number of reasons. I need to be sure this is not some passing fancy, that you are… Serious about taking this further.”

Luna stared down at her hooves before answering, “I know who he is, and what he is. Brother to the Element of Honesty, a friend to your student.”

“And a commoner,” Celestia added. “Pardon the brutal honesty, but you have to know how some of the nobles will react.”

Luna bristled now at the verbal prodding, her ears folding back once again. “This is no longer the thirteen century, Tia. We are no longer obliged to marry into the noble houses only! What do we care of what they will say? What right do they have to dictate our choices in love?”

“Equestria is not a dictatorship, Lulu. We cannot simply make decisions without considering the effect they will have on those that help us govern.”

“GOVERN? THEM?” Luna’s temper erupted once again and as her power flared the alicorn seemed to grow taller, older, jabbing a hoof down towards Canterlot as she spoke, “We have seen them at our Night Court. We have seen their petty maneuverings and posturing! We have seen them bicker and scheme and plot in their desperate attempts to gain prestige for their houses and names! What do we care for their opinions? They cannot touch us!”

“No, you’re right, they can’t touch us,” and now Celestia’s voice was soft and sad. “But they can touch him,” and she gently patted the telescope.

Luna’s eyes widened as the meaning sank in, “They would not DARE;” she snarled. “Even ones as self-absorbed as they would not think of interfering in our affairs!”

“Are you willing to bet his life on that assumption, Lulu? That’s what you’re going to be doing if you pursue this. McIntosh, and I mean this in the kindest of ways, is not a special pony. He is not a great hero, nor an Element bearer, nor a noble. I cannot easily protect him as I might Twilight. Can you protect him every day, every hour?”

Luna glared at her sister, her teeth clenched, “It is not thy decision to make. Nor is it mine. McIntosh is no fool, he will know the risks and the consequences of becoming involved with one such as we. You will not make that decision for him, Celestia, nor will I, but I promise you this; if some unlucky accident should befall him, if he should die in a strange accident on the farm, if he should suddenly take his own life, or be struck by a bolt of lightning…” her voice grew darker and angrier with every word. “Then I will blame the nobles of this town and that I will not forgive. They will be made to understand the true measure of the mistake they have made!”

Celestia said nothing, instead turning to gaze out over Canterlot, the silence stretching out till even Luna fidgeted a little in place, buffing an imaginary speck off the telescope’s polished stand.

Celestia took a slow, deep breath, then sighed softly. “As Princess Celestia, I know what I should say. I should caution you, warn you. I should tell you to be very careful of the path you’re about to walk down, of what it could cost you and the impact it could have on Equestria. I should remind you that regardless of desire, you are anything but a normal mare and you cannot escape that as much as you might try. There are eyes on us, always, and not all of them are kind,” she paused and kicked a forehoof lightly against the balcony. “But all that said, when there are only the two of us, when it is merely Tia and Lulu… Then I wish you all the happiness in the world, Lulu, truly. You wish to take a lover? A commoner? Then if that is what makes you happy, I will support you without hesitation. McIntosh is a fine stallion, the Apples are strong, hardy stock, always have been. He’ll make a more than worthy consort for you and,” Celestia paused for a fraction of a second, giving her sister a playful wink, “might I add, he does have a most delightfully firm rump.”

“TIA!”

Prince Blueblood could scarcely believe his ears. It wasn’t enough that Celestia had seen fit to raise that lowborn unicorn Twilight Sparkle to the ranks of the royalty but now Luna was talking about doing the same to some farmer? Pure chance had seen him step out onto the balcony of his suite, set a little ways down below that of the Princess of the Night. He had never once imagined that he would be privy to a conversation of this importance.

A farmer? Princess Luna was seriously considering sullying the royal bloodline with the most common of stock? Why not just court a mule or zebra in that case and be done with it? This simply could not be allowed to stand, could not be tolerated, would not be allowed! He was sure that if they petitioned Celestia, with the full voice of the nobles raised in outcry, she would deny her sister this abject foolishness!

Luna had to be made to understand that there were things one simply did not do these days and a Princess courting a common farm pony was most certainly one of them. Had she merely expressed an interest in male company he was sure he or any one of the other nobles, as inferior to him as they might be, could have satisfied her but it seemed the Princess had a taste for, ahem, rough trade.

He gazed at the balcony, watching the two alicorns talking, their voices quieter now as Luna calmed down from her initial outburst. Of course, if Luna refused to listen to reason, then there were other steps that could be taken. Nothing so crass as assassination, no no. There were plenty of other ways to dissuade someone like that getting any ideas of rising above his natural station.

“You, colt,” he glanced over his shoulder at the young unicorn servant that was busily folding his formal clothes and stacking them neatly in the wardrobe. “Find me Red Tape, tell him Prince Blueblood wishes to see him. Now.”

Author's Notes:

Hello folks. I had to upload this one again, I really wasn't very happy with the flow of conversation between Luna and 'Tia, it felt very abrupt in places. I'm a lot happier with the flow of this now.